Politicizing Sex in Contemporary Africa: Homophobia in Malawi
Cambridge University Press, 11/29/2018
EAN 9781108427890, ISBN10: 1108427898
Hardcover, 318 pages, 23.4 x 15.6 x 2.1 cm
Language: English
Although sexual minorities in Africa continue to face harsh penalties for same-sex relationships, strong anti-homophobic resistance exists across the continent. This book systematically charts the emergence and effects of politicized homophobia in Malawi and shows how it has been used as a strategy by political elites to consolidate their moral and political authority, through punishing LGBT people and dividing social movements. Here, Ashley Currier pays particular attention to the impact of politicized homophobia on different social movements, specifically HIV/AIDS, human rights, LGBT rights, and women's rights movements. Her timely account intervenes in Afro-pessimist portrayals of the African continent as a hotbed of homophobia and unravels the tensions and contradictions underlying Western perceptions of Malawi. It shows that, in reality, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people happily call Malawi home, in spite of heightened antigay vitriol that has generated unwanted visibility for them.
List of figures
Acknowledgments
List of abbreviations
Introduction
politicized homophobia in Malawi
1. The politicization of same-sex sexualities in Malawi
2. Trials of love
the rise of politicized homophobia
3. The repressive 'wedge' politics of politicized homophobia
4. Arrested solidarity
why some movements do not support LGBT rights
5. Under duress
sexual minorities' perceptions about the effects of politicized homophobia
Conclusion
the reach and limits of politicized homophobia
References.